Video by Leah Carroll. Words by Donal Byrne.
The Chinese EV manufacturer, BYD, has an astonishing 120,000 engineers working in research and development and are now lodging an average of 45 patent applications every working day.
Perhaps that explains how the company - originally just a battery producer - has managed to achieve a charging time breakthrough, the scale of which has left other manufacturers almost in disbelief.
BYD says its new flash charging system can deliver two kilometres of charge every second and make EV charging as quick as filling a car with a conventional engine with petrol or diesel.
An amazing development, yes, but will this be happening at a charging point near you any time in the near future? No - for as long as everyone in your neighbourhood needs to boil kettles or keep the lights on in their homes.
The chargers capable of delivering this massive power output will be built in China, but the United States and Europe, for example, will simply be unable to accommodate them for a very long time to come because of the expense and energy outputs they require.
If you have ever gone to charge an EV at a 150 kWh fast charger and watch its output hover at nearer 50 kWh to 60 kWh, you'll know what the grid is often confined to delivering at particular times of day
In the meantime, BYD models keep coming and they keep coming at prices that illustrate the company’s ability to absorb tariff charges in the EU.
This time it’s another car named after an aquatic mammal - the Sealion 7. The, SUV, with coupe styling has just been launched in Ireland. It majors on size and interior space and has an entry-level price tag of €45,435.
There’s an 82 kWh battery that BYD claims can deliver up to 502 kilometres of range. As usual, we’ll wait to see how that claim stacks up in the real world.
The car is a big 4.8 metres long, 1.6 metres tall and 1.9 metres wide. Despite its pronounced sloping coupe profile, the rear does not suffer in terms of head and legroom and rear seat passengers - well, the ones seating nearest the doors - won’t be complaining. The one in the middle may have some comfort issues, however, due to the protruding central armrest.
The boot has a useful 520 litres capacity and 1789 with the seats folded. A front boot under the bonnet has an equally useful 58 litres for cables and so on.
A brief introductory drive showed the car doesn’t lack acceleration. BYD says the motor is the fastest electric motor in mass production today and is capable of 216 km/h
As usual with BYD cars - the interior is dominated by the infotainment screen, which is a pretty massive 15.6 inches, and into which you will have to dig deeply for almost every function. Buttons are in short supply.
Again, as is usual with new Chinese EV’s, the standard level of equipment is generous. You’ll get "vegan" upholstery, a 2.1 metre square panoramic sunroof and a 12-speaker stereo system. There is also a double layer of soundproof glass. And you can use a number of methods of unlocking the car, including smart watch pairing.
There is also a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control, traffic-sign recognition and intelligent and speed-limit control.
BYD has done well with its EuroNCAP crash test results so far, with all of its current models being awarded the maximum five stars.
The warranty for the car is six years or 150,000 kilometres, with an eight year battery guarantee. After that time, BYD says it guarantees the battery will still have a 70 per cent state of health.
The Sealion has, according to BYD, a fast charger capacity to get from 10 to 80 % in 24 minutes. Let's see what the future beings though.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
